Charlottetown: Overman makes a clockpunk statement
Imagine if Jules Verne designed jewellery. Picture it and you’ll get the idea behind the beautiful, yet distinctly utilitarian necklaces, cufflinks, pendants, rings and ties clips created by Islander Matt Bowness.
This past November, inspired by his need to conceal tattoos at work, Bowness decided to make a set of cufflinks and soon after, he launched his own company, Overman. The metal jewellery is constructed of vintage clock parts, specifically, the tiny gears, crowns, and balance wheels of old hand and pocket watches
—a sort of fashion equivalent to clockpunk, a subgenre of steampunk (how steam-power obsessed Victorians might have envisioned the future). The result is a collection of pieces that look like they jumped from the pages of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (And unlike the Industrial Age, the line is also environmentally friendly, recycling bits of brass and other metals that would have that would have ended up in the scrap heap.) What’s next? There are plans to expand Overman and bring stained glass and copper into the designs. On April 25, the line will be part of an exhibition of fashion photography at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. The jewellery can be found at The Green Man Vintage & Vinyl (48 University Ave., 902-566-1361) or online through the Overman Facebook page.
Photography by Brenda Chaisson
My name is Amanda Bulman and I’m a 22-year-old freelance writer, graphic novel fanatic, vintage fashion fiend and photographer in the beautiful city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This Island is not known to our more obviously stylish neighbouring provinces as being a hip, fashion-enlightened, happening place, but I’ve found that once you look around you’ll find that some of Canada’s most talented (and underrated) designers, stores and musicians call the birthplace of Canada’s Confederation home.
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